A son of deceased mafia boss Vito Rizzuto was one of 48 people arrested Thursday during police raids targeting organized crime.
The operation targeted an alliance that was trying to take over Montreal’s drug trade, specifically the trafficking of cocaine in Montreal’s east end.
More than 200 officers were part of operations Magot and Mastiff, as they were dubbed, and apprehended local organized crime figures such as Gregory Wooley, an alleged street gang leader and Hells Angels confidant, Leonardo Rizzuto, one of Vito’s sons, and Stefano Sollecito, believed by police to be head of the Montreal mafia, who was picked up at his Terrebonne home. Loris Cavalière, a Rizzuto family lawyer, was also arrested.
Surete du Quebec Lt. Benoît Dubé said he believes the operation has dealt the drug trade a serious blow.
"We arrested all the people who were making the decisions, all the main players," he said.
Notorious Hells Angels member Maurice “Mom” Boucher was also arrested Thursday and will be charged with conspiring to kill former associate Raynald Desjardins. Dubé said Boucher was working with his daughter Alexandra Mongeau, who would relay information to Wooley.
“They want to make sure to keep control. And if they had adversaries, they wanted to move before they moved," he said.
Boucher and his daughter now face charges of conspiracy to commit murder. The daughter's lawyer argued she shouldn't be locked up because she has to breastfeed her 3-week-old baby.
While police say the arrests are a huge blow to the cocaine trade, crime experts say the worry is now shifting toward smaller gangs.
“I think we're going to see some violence in the streets in Montreal in the next weeks because people will want to take their place,” said La Presse crime reporter Daniel Renaud.
Police, however, say they know who those smaller players are and they're already keeping an eye on them.
The investigation began Jan. 1, 2013 and police from Montreal, Longueuil, Laval as well as the SQ and RCMP were involved.
Below are flowcharts, provided by the SQ, that show how those arrested Thursday are linked to each other.
